


When Crabs Attack

by Revasnaslan



Series: Out of the Depths AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Dads of Marmora (Voltron), Family Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Kid Keith (Voltron), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-16 02:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14155083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: Tide pools are supposed to befun.





	When Crabs Attack

**Author's Note:**

> this thing was drafted all the way back in january, but i'm only just now getting to posting it :') enjoy the family shenanigans!!
> 
> EDIT: some fanart was made for this fic, by [artsy-oleander](http://artsy-oleander.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr. The fanart can be found [here](http://artsy-oleander.tumblr.com/post/173895487093/revasnaslan-has-the-cutest-mermaidmerpeople-au)!

Establishing themselves in a new territory had been difficult for the Marmora Pod. They had been migrating on and off for close to two and half season cycles, sometimes lingering in the territories of other pods for a time before they moved on. But finally— _finally_ —they had managed to find a portion of shoreline that hadn’t been claimed.

Ulaz was thankful for that, even though he had been born a Wanderer. He had spent most of his life traveling up and down the coasts with his mothers, from the time he was large enough to venture outside of the cave he had been born in. But he knew that Thace—and most of the Marmora Pod—were unaccustomed to constantly being on the move. It had done little to help with Thace’s anxieties, and he had frequently worried that they were still being followed by scouts from the pod that had neighbored them in the Old Territory. Keith, on the other hand, had seen migrating as an adventure. He had been too small when they had left to understand _why_ they had had to leave.

But now that they had their new territory, they were settling in very nicely. Most members of the pod had found caves of their own, scattered across the area, and Kolivan had begun sending out search parties to map the coasts more thoroughly. Today, Ulaz was on scouting duty, accompanying Antok along the shore. They had started on the far edge and then worked towards the harbor that sat at the west side of the bay, and it was nearing sunhigh, but they hadn’t made as much progress as they had hoped.

Right now, they were hiding in the shadow of some rocks along the shore, watching a pair of adult humans play with their pup in the shallows. Antok’s claws clicked impatiently against the dull face of the stone. They had been hiding for a while now. Ulaz could see where their half-eaten fish still sat on the far side of the shore, abandoned when they had heard the humans arriving.

Ulaz’s ears shifted back as he peeked out between cracks where the rocks didn’t quite meet. “That pup is young… a little younger than Keith, maybe. Are they just now introducing it to the water?”

Antok snorted. “You know all humans swim like newborns.”

Ulaz hummed softly in agreement, but said nothing as he turned his attention back to the humans. They seemed to have lost interest in the water, and were now sitting on some sort of nest, laid out on the sand, while eating off of flat, circular scales.

“We should go,” Antok said, nudging Ulaz as he slid past him towards the water. He peered around the rocks, eyes narrowing as he watched the humans. When he saw an opening to move without being seen, he disappeared back into the water without making much of a splash. A considerable feat, given Antok’s size. Ulaz followed him a moment later, after ensuring that the humans hadn’t looked their way.

“We’ll need to tell Kolivan about the humans,” Ulaz said as he caught up with Antok. This part of shore didn’t seem like a very popular meeting place for them, but they would need to know everywhere the humans could potentially go if they wanted to avoid running into them.

“We can do that after we finish this section of shore,” Antok said, darting off before Ulaz could say anything more. The last thing Ulaz saw before he disappeared around the rocks was his near-black tail fin. Ulaz glanced back towards the entrance to the cove before following Antok. When he caught up with him, Antok was at the surface, just poking his eyes and ears above the water. At the sight of the tide pools that lay along this stretch of shore, a surprised chirp left Ulaz’s throat. There had been some in the cove, but those were smaller.

Antok opened his mouth, scenting the air. After a moment, his large ears flicked, making tiny droplets of water fell from his fur. “I think this shore connects to the cove,” he said, motioning with his ears from the direction they had come. It was difficult to tell from their vantage point if Antok was right, though.

Ulaz wasn’t really paying attention regardless. The tidal pools along the shore had grabbed hold of his attention, leaving an ache in his chest. Keith had been too small to go and see the tidal pools in the Old Territory before they had left. But he was such an inquisitive little thing that Ulaz knew he would love to see the pools.

The sun was just beginning to dip below the water on the horizon when Ulaz left Antok to return to his own cave. As he approached his cave, Ulaz spotted Keith swimming around outside, digging through the sand for something or other. Thace flitted about nearby, checking on the crabs they had been taking care of beneath an old, overturned human boat that had sunk to the bottom. Ulaz could pick up the lingering scent of fish as well, and spotted some disturbed sand far beyond the cave where Thace must have buried the bones that were too small to be of any use.

“Papa!” Keith said as soon as he had spotted Ulaz. His entire expression brightened as he abandoned his search in the sand and darted over, zipping around Ulaz excitedly. “You’re back! Did you go far? Dad said you went far.”

“Well, if Dad said so, it must be true,” Ulaz chuckled softly, opening his arms. Immediately, Keith snuggled in, purring happily as he rubbed their cheeks together in greeting. A deeper purr rose in Ulaz’s chest in return. “Did you have fun with him today while I was gone?”

Keith nodded, eyes bright and alert. “I got him lots of shells!”

Thace motioned to the cave with a subtle shift of his tail fin, eyes not straying from his work. “I told him to put them inside so they’d be safe,” he said, ears twitching in amusement.

“C’mon! C’mon!” Keith said, wiggling out of Ulaz’s grasp and grabbing hold of his hand—well, more like three of his fingers. “I wanna show you!”

Ulaz allowed the cub to lead him along, leaving Thace outside to continue tending to the lobsters. As soon as they were inside, Keith let go of Ulaz’s hand and darted over to the far side of the cave, where there was a small pile of shells hidden in a nook in the wall—perhaps about a dozen. Keith began sorting through them, ears pinning back and twitching against the sides of his head as the tip of his tongue stuck out in concentration. Ulaz’s attention was dragged away when he felt Thace brush against his side. He turned his head as Thace nuzzled him.

“You seem to be in an awfully good mood,” Thace commented, tilting his head to the side just so as his ears flicked curiously. “Did you and Antok find anything interesting?”

“Tide pools,” Ulaz said, unable to hide his smile as Thace’s ears went alert and his expression brightened. “They’re just along the shore on the far side of the territory, near this little cove… there were some humans there, but it’s secluded so I don’t think they’ll be there much…”

“What’s a teede pool?” Keith asked, clumsily swimming over now that his arms were full of the best shells he had found from his little pile.

“ _Tide_ pool, little one,” Thace corrected him gently.

“What is a _tide_ pool?” Keith repeated as he started giving Thace the shells, setting them one by one in Thace’s outstretched palm.

Thace thanked him before he began explaining. “It’s where water collects when the tide goes out. Little things live in them.”

Keith tilted his head to the side, ears flicking in interest. “Little things?” he asked, eyes going wide. “Like pups?”

Thace chuckled softly. “No, I think you’d be hard pressed to actually live in a tide pool, little one.”

Ulaz tilted his head to the side fondly as he watched the exchange. “So?” he pressed. “Can we go?”

“Pleeeeeease?” Keith added.

Thace sighed, looking a touch exasperated. “Fine— _fine_ ,” he relented. “ _Tomorrow_ we can go. But only because it’s supposed to be rainy.”

Keith was practically vibrating in excitement, eyes sparkling in the dimming light of the cave. “Bright and early?”

Thace hummed softly. “I don’t know… do you think you can wake up bright and early?” he asked teasingly. When Keith’s ears pinned back in determination and he nodded, Thace gathered the pup up in his arms, blowing bubbles against Keith’s cheek while Keith giggled and squirmed to get free.

The shells were forgotten on the floor of the cave for the time being.

—

It had taken some coaxing to get both Keith and Thace out of the nest for the swim over to the far side of the territory, past the docks. Keith was still too sleepy to get there under his own power. Normally, when they were traveling longer distances, Keith would fall in at one of his fathers’ flanks and follow after them. This morning, however, he was riding on Thace’s back, arms securely around his father’s neck as he continued sleeping.

‘Bright and early’ had been considerably earlier than Keith had realized, evidently.

“Laz, slow down,” Thace said as they approached the shore, nearing the area that Ulaz and Antok had visited the previous day. “The pools will still be there…” he continued through a yawn.

“Not if the tide comes in,” Ulaz retorted.

“I know you’re excited, but we still need to be careful,” Thace reminded him. “Rain sometimes doesn’t deter humans.”

Keith let out a soft chirp and gave a wide, squeaky yawn as he woke up again. “Are we there yet, Dad?” he mumbled, still sounding half-asleep as he rubbed one of his eyes and looked around them. Upon noticing the unfamiliar surroundings, his ears perked and his eyes widened. “I can’t see home anymore… are we far?”

Thace offered a soft, comforting purr in the back of his throat. “We’ll be there soon, little one,” he assured the pup softly. “It shouldn’t be too much farther, right, Laz?”

“No, it’s just up ahead,” Ulaz said. He could see the entrance to the cove in the distance, although it was further than they’d be going. As they neared the shore, Ulaz moved to the surface, poking his head above the water just enough so that he could check their surroundings. A light drizzle left the beach damp and uninhabited.

Thace’s head popped up above the surface a moment later, and Keith was still on his back.

“Is it safe, Dad?” Keith whispered.

“Shhh…” Thace hushed him softly, turning his head to lightly nudge his nose against Keith’s temple. “Your father is going to check.”

Carefully, Ulaz hauled himself up onto the rocks, looking around for any signs of humans or dogs. Upon seeing none, he scented the air. While the rain had washed most of the scents away, making it difficult to smell, he didn’t pick up on anything recent. He didn’t hear anything, either, aside from the light patter of rain hitting stone and the soft roll of the waves in the distance.

“It’s safe,” he said over his shoulder, pulling his tail out of the water.

Thace followed him, and Keith slid off of his father’s back onto the rocks. The pup stared out across the rocks curiously, tilting his head to the side. If Ulaz was remembering correctly, Keith had only visited the shore a couple of times before, although he had frequently gone to the surface while they were traveling. It took a moment or two—and a nervous glance back at Thace, which was met with a light, encouraging nudge—before Keith tore off, moving much faster than Ulaz had ever seen him move, as he made directly for the nearest pool. The largest of the tide pools were big enough that Keith would be able to sit in them comfortably. Thace followed the pup in order to make sure Keith didn’t stray too far from the safety of the depths. Ulaz, however, lingered near the edge of the rocks, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger, as Thace was going to be distracted until Keith picked a pool to play in.

Once he settled down in front of one, Keith splashed around in it with tiny hands, testing the water. Then, he leaned down to stick his head into it. His tail fin gave an excited flick and he came back up, shaking his head and spraying water everywhere before he eagerly held up a shell for Thace.

“Thank you, little one,” Thace said, leaning his head down to nuzzle Keith in return for the shell. Once Ulaz got a good look at it, he saw that it was actually a shard from a larger red and white one, but Thace accepted it nonetheless. Practically beaming, Keith immediately moved onto the next pool he noticed, which was closer to the water, where Ulaz was sitting.

“When did you start bringing your father shells, Keith?” Ulaz asked, lightly smoothing a hand over the top of Keith’s slightly damp headfur. He hadn’t noticed Keith doing it before yesterday…

Keith’s ears flicked. “You bring him shells and that makes him happy,” he explained, “I want to make Dad happy too…”

“Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Ulaz said, ducking his head as his voice dropped to a whisper. “He likes purple shells the best… do you think you can find one of those? I’m sure he’d love it.”

Keith’s entire face lit up as he nodded. Without another word, he crawled over to a new pool to begin his search anew, ears set back in determination. With Keith now occupied, Ulaz moved over to sit closer to Thace, who was still keeping a watchful eye on the pup.

“What did you tell him?” Thace asked, ears flicking curiously as he watched Keith scurry off to yet another new pool. Gently, Ulaz reached out and took hold of Thace’s chin, turning his head so their eyes met. “Nobody is watching Keith,” Thace pointed out, even as he leaned into the touch.

“He’ll be fine for two ticks.”

Thace let out a soft sigh. “What is it, Ulaz?”

“When was the last time I gave you shells?” Ulaz asked.

Thace huffed, ears twitching in amusement. “Yesterday morning, before you left,” he mumbled as Ulaz lightly butted their foreheads together. A soft purr rose in Thace’s throat. “Don’t you remember?” he asked teasingly as their noses brushed. “It was that beautiful conch shell you found at the beach—”

A sharp screech came from a couple of tail lengths away, cutting Thace off.

“Keith!” Thace gasped, moving to the pup’s side immediately. “Here let me see…”

When Ulaz came over, he found that Keith had somehow managed to get a crab to pinch onto his nose, and now it wouldn’t let go. Gently, he reached underneath of Keith’s chin, turning his head to check. The crab didn’t look like it was grabbing on that hard, so it should have been easy enough to get off. “Hold him still, Thace,” Ulaz said, before he gently started trying to pry the crab’s claw from Keith’s nose.

“It hurts…” Keith sobbed, as big tears rolled down his cheeks, staining his fur.

“I know, I know…” Thace said soothingly, gently petting Keith’s headfur. “Papa is going to get it off, though, okay? Just hold still…”

It took a couple of ticks, but Ulaz managed to coax the crab into letting go. No sooner had Keith been freed from its grasp, did Thace gather Keith up in his arms. He started purring deep in his chest as he groomed Keith’s headfur, trying to soothe the crying cub. Keith’s purring was stuttered in between his hiccups as he snuggled into Thace’s arms. When Ulaz unceremoniously dropped the crab back onto the rocks, Thace hissed sharply at it as it scuttled away, out of sight. They sat there for a little while—without being able to see the sun, Ulaz couldn’t properly gauge how long they did—until Keith’s sobs became nothing more than soft hiccups.

“Crabs are scary…” Keith mumbled.

“Yes, but you were a very brave little hunter,” Thace assured him. “Now, do you want to go with Papa and keep looking for shells? I’m sure he’ll keep you safe if you run into any more of them…”

Keith sniffed loudly, rubbing one of his eyes before he nodded and squirmed out of Thace’s arms. He still seemed a little shaky, but he also appeared more determined to continue exploring the pools.

“Where are you going?” Ulaz asked.

“Just to go and get some fish,” Thace said, dipping his head to nuzzle Keith and then moving to do the same with Ulaz. “I’ll be back.” And then he was gone, slipping back into the depths. Their last sight of him was his tail fin slapping against the surface.

“Papa,” Keith said quickly, reaching up to pat Ulaz’s cheek to get his attention. “Let’s go! We need to find a purple one!”

“Alright, Keith… I’m coming,” Ulaz said, following after Keith as they moved along the shore to continue searching the pools.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)  
> beta'd by : [Akumeoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi)


End file.
